Reason
by webofdreams89
Summary: Because Mello was his reason. Matt/Mello. Onesided Mello/Near.


**Author's Notes: Ah, this little story just sort of popped into my head the other day, and I went with it. Not much to say on it other than that! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own. *weeps***

**Summary: Because Mello was his reason. Matt/Mello. Onesided Mello/Near. Rated M for content.**

o.O.o

**Reason  
Completed on December 27, 2008**

o.O.o

He could feel the rage beginning to bubble just below the surface, his blood boiling and churning as he stared again and again at this semester's ranking list. He was high on the list, there was no doubt about that, but there was still one person in the way from keeping him from the very top.

Near.

Mello felt a hand land lightly on his shoulder, a gentle tug away from the bulletin board that housed the current list. He didn't need to turn and see the flaming red hair, the eyes hidden by large tinted goggles, or the sympathetic look that adorned Matt's face. He had _that_ look memorized, having seen it every semester since Near had come to live at Wammy's House.

"C'mon," Matt urged, his grip on Mello's shoulder tightening. "Mello? We should go."

Nodding slightly, Mello turned around and followed Matt from the room. From the corner of his eye, he could see Near standing in the doorway, his finger curled in his pale hair. He stood, just twirling and staring at Mello with wide, dead eyes.

A gloating _ha ha, I beat you yet again_ would have been far preferable to the absolute nothingness on Near's face as he stared at his rival. Just stared, and it was impossible to tell exactly _what_ was going on behind those eyes of his.

And Mello could feel the anger spill over then. Matt, knowing him well, roughly grabbed his arm then, half dragging him from the common room.

o.O.o

Five minutes later and Matt's mouth was little consolation for having been beaten yet again. Sure, Mello's fingers were entangled in Matt's hair, his hand commanding both the speed and the pressure. And sure, those soft little moans and sighs that drove Matt absolutely wild fell from his mouth as Mello approached climax, but it just wasn't the same.

Usually, after discovering that he had been narrowly edged out of the top place once again, Matt was a good distraction, an extraordinary distraction. But today, Mello was having trouble losing himself to only feeling and touching and loving.

Mello tensed up as he came white and hot into Matt's mouth, gripping red hair and the strap of goggles. Once the feeling had stopped raking his body, he lay back for a second, his chest heaving. He could feel Matt zipping his pants up, lying down next to him. Fingers cupped the side of his face, turning it until Mello felt chapped lips meet his own for a kiss that began sweet and quickly turned into seeking lips and clashing teeth and battling tongues.

He felt Matt's arms wrap around his thin body, drawing the blond to him until their bodies were flush with the other's.

And Mello felt gratitude then, for Matt, who was always there, always there, even when he was in his worst temper. Matt, who never asked for anything, who never demanded or pleaded or seemed to want.

Ten minutes later and Matt's pants were around his ankles as Mello took the redhead into his own mouth.

Less than a minute later, Mello heard the door to the abandoned classroom open a fraction. Dark eyes peered inside, just watching. As Mello's head bobbed up and down in a rhythm that pleased Matt and made him groan, he kept his eyes trained on the doorway, challenging.

That night, long after having retired to his room, Near's hand wrapped around himself for the first time. And for the first time, Mello's angry eyes clearly in his mind, he understood.

o.O.o

"L is dead."

_Things will change around here,_ Near thought to himself as he glanced up at Mello, whose eyes had gone wide and jaw had dropped.

He didn't know just how much. Not yet anyway.

o.O.o

Near saw Matt the next morning at breakfast, a bowl of ignored Lucky Charms placed in front of him. Near wasn't all that surprised that Matt wasn't eating his breakfast. He was used to seeing the redhead choosing the latest PSP game over his morning nourishment. But the strange thing was that he didn't have a handheld of any sort in his hands.

He was simply staring blankly forward, eyes not focused or seeing anything.

"What is the matter?" Near asked as he sat next to Matt, in Mello's usual seat. He should have known then, the fact that Mello's usual seat wasn't occupied by Mello. He really should have known then.

"Mello's gone," Matt said blankly, eyes swiveling over to look at Near.

Near had just noticed that Matt wasn't wearing his goggles and his eyes were puffy red.

"Gone?" Near asked, trying to keep the small swell of panic that had risen in chest.

"He left last night. He just packed a few of his things and…left."

"Oh," Near said, unsure of what to say really.

"You feel how I feel," Matt said quietly, his eyes closing harshly. "You know, because you felt it too. For him, for Mello."

Near didn't know what to say to that.

"Near," Roger said from the doorway a moment later. "Near, you're needed."

Near got up, mind on a vague sort of autopilot. He stole a glance at Matt before continuing to the door and following Roger to begin briefing on the Kira case.

Neither boy was at the breakfast table the next morning.

o.O.o

It was the first time Near had seen Mello in all the years since he had left the Wammy House when they were just kids.

He was mildly interested in the changes that had taken place in Mello's appearance, the new scar that coved roughly a third of his face, the longer, straighter hair. Mello was also much taller, having grown a good six inches, but he was still thin in a way that few women actually were. He had taken to wearing leather and Near was somewhat pleased to notice that Mello now wore his rosary outside his shirt instead of neatly tucked inside as he always had when they were younger.

In a way, Near was very proud of Mello and the way that he refused to be defeated. It made him smile slightly to know that some things never actually changed.

Near knew that at some point, Matt had been reunited with Mello because he saw the obvious mark of it on the skin of his neck when his hair shifted just right.

But it didn't really matter, not when he knew Mello spent more time a day scheming and planning and plotting ways to defeat Near, to top him. He knew that he was always first in Mello's mind and it made him feel good.

And that night, after he had retired to his quarters, he wrapped a hand around himself, pumping, and thought of Mello's sunshine yellow hair.

o.O.o

Hearing of Mello's death left a sick feeling in the pit of Near's stomach, but he wasn't really surprised. Mello had always been reckless, always hasty. He ran on pure emotion, but it had gotten him farther than Near had ever imagined.

And Near knew that he never would have caught Kira so cleanly if it hadn't been for Mello and his need to come out on top, in first.

So when he caught Kira, he did it for Mello and his passion and drive. Because he was Near's reason and that was enough.

o.O.o

Members of the SPK weren't really sure when exactly it was that Near had become religious because not a one of them had failed to notice the rosary that Near now wore under his pajamas.

_End._

o.O.o

**A/N: Be kind and let me know what you thought!**

**webofdreams89  
**


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